Cobra Gold over Four Decades: Hedging, Alliances, and a United States–Thailand Multilateral Military Exercise

Apr 14, 2026

This article examines whether small-state hedging can coexist with alliances and what Thailand’s strained alliance with the United States implies for regional order. Using the Asia-Pacific’s longest-running multilateral military exercise, Cobra Gold, it traces changes in the exercise’s scale and format over 40 years and relates them to Thailand’s evolving views of international order, foreign policy, and alliances. It finds alliance fragility increased amid Thailand’s authoritarian resurgence and growing China ties, without making that outcome inevitable or a precursor to a China-led order.

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Apr 14, 2026